C for Coffee
by talking-eye
Summary: A continuation of my first fanfic Pain, set after S2. Mainly on Burke and Cristina, also involves Addison, Bailey, the Chief, Mer, George, Izzie. Sequel to Pain.
1. Chapter 1

C for Coffee

Disclaimer: The characters (Burke, Cristina, Bailey, and Meredith) were created by Shonda Rhimes and are owned by ABC. No copyright infringement is intended.

Written on May 22, 2006. Set after the S2 finale, a continuation of my fan-fic "Pain"--Please review both :-) This one will be updated later...

_At Seattle Grace loves coffee, well almost. Surgeons, interns, nurses… perhaps the patients too, that is, when they are not infirm. Coffee is not only a stimulant, but also a communication tool—to please your resident, flirt with your attending/intern, or show the hot-shot surgeon that you could be both a better friend and girlfriend than a woman (look at O'Malley!) They said some men actually fall for their secretaries because they make excellent coffee. The question is—are we born to be attached to coffee? _

Cristina loved coffee, or at least everyone who knew her thought so. When Burke woke up the morning after the prom and saw the curled up body of his favorite woman beside his bed, instantly he wanted to shower her with love… and coffee.

"Good morning, Dr. Burke—"

"Shhh! Hi, Dr. Grey," Burke whispered when Meredith entered the room.

"Is there anything you want me to bring you?" Nobody asked Meredith to come but she wanted to make up for the fact that she committed a crime of happiness when her friends were in pain the night before.

Burke gave a warm smile and looked over Cristina before saying, "could you please get her a coffee? You know, no sugar, double-shot, her style."

Meredith was surprised he was in such a good spirit. _He is a patient. People who are suffering ought to feel miserable and damaged, just like me._

_I'm late again. Burke has already made coffee. Cristina, count to three and you'll wake up, ready?_ Cristina was talking to herself in her dream when that familiar smell went up her nostrils. When she opened her eyes and saw the coffee, she was confused.

_Since when has Burke started working at Starbucks instead of making me his own coffee?_

"Good morning, sleepy head."

"Oh."

"Where's your manner, Dr. Yang? You should say 'good morning', not 'oh'," Burke teased her, without being irritated at all.

"I'm sorry."

Cristina slowly remembered what happened the day before and she was a bit disappointed to realize that she would not be having Burke's home-made coffee for a while. When he first started making her coffee, she thought it tasted like water. What she wanted was something stronger, something that made her feel like a superwoman. Sipping her Starbucks coffee now, she actually wished she was having the water-like coffee in her traveling mug.

"There is nothing to be sorry about, Cristina." The enthusiasm in Burke winded down a bit as he thought about his injury. He was still troubled by it, but he did not want anything to break his spirit, not in front of the scared child sitting on his bed.

"What are you looking at?" Cristina blushed when she noticed that Burke fixated his soft brown eyes on her face.

"You know, Cristina, it's been a while since I last watched you finish your coffee—"

Cristina frowned. _Was he about to fall into one of those melancholic speeches, reminiscing the good old past?_ _Was he mad at her for rushing out of the house every morning with her traveling mug without giving him a long loving kiss?_

"Right." Instead of over-interpreting the situation, Cristina covered her face with a smile.

Burke smiled back. He loved seeing Cristina's little girl smile. He wanted to tell her that was better than the Cappuccino George O'Malley made.

"Dr. Yang, I KNOW you're here. The Chief wants to see you. Now run!" Bailey broke the electric currents passing through the two pairs of brown eyes.

"Good morning, Dr. Burke, if you would please excuse Dr. Yang."

Burke knew he had to let the woman go, but he knew she would come back to him, the same way she needed her coffee every morning.

Cristina took a satisfying gulp of her coffee, rushed out of the room, only to rush back seconds later to give him a coffee-scented kiss on his belly before leaving again.

Next time, she would tell him why coffee alone was no longer enough.


	2. Chapter 2

Was typing on impulse after a long day of work, didn't bother to spell-check...Am hoping to draw more characters in later. Please review :-)



Cristina almost jumped when she heard the tiny squeak under her feet. _Who the hell is leaving a coffee lid right here? _

Instead of kicking it the way a child would with empty cans, something she had guiltily enjoyed as a kid and a grown-up, Cristina picked it up.

"Dr. Yang, are you Okay?"

Richard was genuinely worried when he saw his most ambitious intern staring blankly at a useless piece of plastic in front of his office. Already he had lost an intern, his brightest surgeon, and his infallible image in his family. He could not bear to lose Cristina as well.

Yes, Richard was thinking of her as Cristina this very minute. He never noticed he was that fond of her as a student until they took the same training course. The daring competitiveness in Cristina was strikingly familiar.

"Yes, Sir," Cristina tried to collect her thoughts and slowly looked up.

"Chief, are YOU Okay?" _Why isn't the Chief talking?_ _And that grimace! Is he gonna have a panic attack again?_

"Uh…I'm sorry…Well, Dr. Yang… I want you to take some time off." It was harder than he thought to act like a father figure.

"Are you kidding, Chief? I know what you're thinking. I am fine. I can't miss all those cool surgeries just because—"

_Just because the man she is very much in love with has been injured and might never be able to operate again?_ Richard feared she was going to say something heartless, something the woman he once worshipped was capable of saying years ago.

"—just because I froze in the OR yesterday. I promise, Chief, it will not happen again. It's not going to be easy. I know I'll not be as focused as I have been, I'll have to learn a lot of things. I will have to make my own coffee, do the cooking, use the iron—which I never once touched in my 29 years on earth...But you see, well, my point is, you can count on it that I have a sharp learning curve and I will be coping well without compromising my career—"

Cristina did not realize the determination she instilled in her speech was not only to convince Webber but also herself.

"Cristina—"

"I am STILL the best."

"Fine. Let me know if you need anything. Don't push yourself too hard." Seeing the fire in the girl's eyes, Richard let her go. After all, he was not sure if he knew what was best for her either. Maybe she was right.

_Maybe I am right in not asking for a break._ Cristina said to herself as she left the Chief's office. _Or not. Why was I talking about ironing? I DON'T iron! I CAN'T iron. But Burke doesn't like to have his dress shirts ironed by strangers..._

"Dr. Yang, stop looking dreamy. You have a whole board of patients to see. Now go!" Cristina wasn't surprised that Bailey's command was more soothing than the Chief's kind words.

"Hey, Cristina, are you Okay?" George asked gently.

"What's wrong with you people? Burke was shot, I was not. I can still eat, sleep, walk, think, and work. I am Cristina Yang! I am the best."

George bit his lip lightly and tilted his head like an innocent puppy. _I was only trying to show my concern._

"So what do we have?"

The cases were mundane. Several burn victims, one minor car collision injury, a toddler that swallowed the ear of his teddy bear. Before noon, Cristina was already done. She wanted to check up on Burke, but her feet wouldn't let her.

It was only a few hours ago that Cristina felt emotionally close to her man again, almost stronger than when he held her to sleep after she lost the baby, their baby. Yet, she was feeling awkward at this moment. She could not stand it when everyone asked if she was fine. She felt that they were judging her, watching her every move, doubting her ability to be a supporting girlfriend AND a good intern.

She wished she could feel less emotionally exposed. She was like coffee that came without a lid. The coffee in the cup was all good, but without that flimsy shield, one wouldn't have to walk too fast before everything spilt.

_You are not dancing, Cristina. You don't even know how to dance. Why are you taking one step forward and two steps back in the relationship? _

Burke's room gradually entered her visual field. Cristina gave a final squeeze to the lid she had been clutching and slipped it into her side pocket.


	3. Chapter 3

Strictly speaking this is an Addison chapter. Don't be shocked! And don't hate any of the characters...

"Why're you kickin' da ma-cine?" Embarrassed, Addison turned around to see who was talking.

There stood a little girl holding a robot. _Addison remembered the Barbie her step-dad forced her to play with. She had always wanted a robot instead._

"Well, the machine is being bad. It doesn't give me what I want."

Rationalizing with a child was not a good idea. "Maybe you were not nice to it before?"

A vague pang of abandonment surged through Addison's body. _Right. I cheated on my husband, and now both this stupid machine and he is acting against me. _Addison knew the child meant no harm, but she was brought further down the pit by that innocent remark.

"Sorry, Ma'am. Please dun be sad." This child could see from Addison's face that she had said something terrible. Looking back and forth at the coffee machine and Addison, she said, "It'll be fine. Mama always says so."

Addison smiled faintly at the child and asked, "So, where's your Mama?"

"She's with the lady sittin' next to us on da plane. The lady is gonna have a baby. Mama loves helping people." The girl paused, then continued, "Mama and I am 'ere to see Papa 'cause Nana has to take care of Old Sam."

"Do you want some cookies? You can wait for your Mama in the common room."

"Thank you, Ma'am—"

"Call me Dr. Sheppard." Addison smiled, "And what's your name?"

"Leticia. They call me Letty."

"That's a very pretty name. And who is this young fellow?" Addison pointed at the silver robot as they walked towards the common room.

"Oh. This is Patient."

"Patient?" _What a strange little girl. _Addison began to wonder what sort of mother Letty had, who would leaveher daughter unattended in a hospital and let her call her robotsuch a funny name.

"Papa's a doctor too. We operate on Mista Patient."

_No wonder! This girl must be really proud of her father._ Addison's step-dad was also a surgeon, but she almost denounced medicine because of him. Sometimes, sometimes she wished she'd felt just a bit closer to her family.

"Letty sweetheart, there you are!" Letty ran to the other end of the hallway to give the woman a hug.

Addison envied the little girl. She had never seen a mother as elegant and composed, yet loving, as this woman in front of her. There was something very remarkable about her that struck Addison. She was probably in her mid-thirties, wearing a plain white dress hanging comfortably around her slender body. The way how she bent down to talk to her daughter was filled with grace.

Addison had seen the term "unconditional love" many times in her textbooks back in the days as a psychology major before going to medical school. It was something she had always been skeptical about, something she thought Derek could offer after he liberated her from a family that was completely devoid of love. She was wrong.

"Mama, this Ma'am—Doctor gave me cookies."

"Did you say thank you, my dear?"

"Thank you Ma'am."

"Thank you Doctor—"

"Sheppard."

"Dr. Sheppard? It's a pleasure meeting you. Preston has spoken very highly of you, saying you're one of the top neurosurgeons in the country."

"Well, that's my husband—"

"Anyway, we have to go now. Have a good day!"

Before Addison had a chance to clarify, Letty and her mother were out of sight.

_Papa?_ _Did she just meet Dr. Burke's wife and daughter? Wait, Dr. Burke never said he's married? _Addison felt completely at a loss. She was not as close to Burke and Cristina as Derek did, but everyone at the hospital knew Burke was dating Cristina.

Addison was in disbelief. _What's wrong with these men?_ Was every relationship bound to be laden by lies and dirty secrets? But Preston Burke? Before Cristina, everyone thought he was not interested in women, or men, for that matter. Unlike Derek, Preston Burke's eyes would follow no one but his curly-hair intern.

From afar, Addison saw Cristina Yang dragging herself towards Burke's room. Then she saw another tiny figure dashed into the room, followed by a loud and clear voice saying, "Papa Burke!"


	4. Chapter 4

I wrote Chs. 3 & 4 together and tried to hold Ch.4 till after the Memorial weekend... Just to spice things up. But I don't want people to hate me, so here it goes:

- - - - - -

Cristina's jaw dropped when she saw the picture-perfect scene, the word _Papa_ still echoing in her head like the cathedral's bells. It was like choking on one's favorite coffee that had turned sour when she least expected it.

Normally, Cristina's body was quick to registerBurke's smiling face by reflecting it on her own. But when she saw his relaxed smile and the corners of his eyes crinkled at this moment, she locked up her eyebrows so tightly that it almost hurt.

"Letty darling, come here, your Papa has a visitor." The slender woman saw Cristina and led the little girl to other corner of the room.

_How dare you, playing happy family in front of me and now giving me this happy look? _

Burke chuckled and looked deeply into Cristina's eyes, trying to sound serious, "This indeed is my happy family, Cristina—"

Cristina realized she had said it aloud and blushed. The little girl stared at her in doubt.

"Come here, Letty. I want you to meet Cristina. She's a very special person in my—"

"Medical team. I'm Dr. Burke's intern." _That's ridiculous. You don't call someone special in front of your daughter and wife. And now what, am I the mistress?_

Amused, Burke shook his head. _This is so Cristina._

"Wow, is this the very brave Cristina you told Nana about? Da one Letty should learn from?" Letty hopped forward and stretched out her tiny arm to shake Cristina's hand. "I am Letty Burke."

Seeing the hesitation written all over Cristina's face, the slender woman in the corner finally gave a partially disapproving glance over Burke.

"Preston, stop torturing Cristina. You've to properly introduce us to her."

"But Cristina finished off my sentence and never gave me a chance to explain." Burke laughed. "Cristina, this is my sister Margaret, the one who works at the orphanage."

Quickly racing through her memory, Cristina recalled that Burke did mention having a sister, a Catholic nun by the name of Margaret.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Cristina. My mother has been telling me about you since your last phone conversation with her at Christmas, about this remarkable woman who's bringing so much happiness to her son." Margaret gave Cristina a hug, despite her brother's previous warning that she might as well hug a bony tree.

Speechless, Cristina forced a smile. _I hate you Burke. You make me look like a bad girlfriend again. _

The proud gaze of Preston Burke met with the sullen look of Cristina Yang. For a split second he thought she would snap, but when he noticed how her stiffened shoulders relaxed after Margaret's embrace, he knew she probably was only anxious about not getting the best girlfriend award.

"What about Letty?" Cristina tried to solve one piece of the mystery at a time.

"She's one of the kids at the orphanage. My mother adores her and has been her foster parent for a while now." Margaret responded, wrapping her arms around Letty and ran her fingers across her silky hair warmly.

"So she's not your daughter?" Cristina looked at Margaret, then Burke, "Or yours?"

"Margie is everyone's Mama. Now Letty has Nana and Papa Burke. Are you a doctor too? Can we be friends?" Letty stretched out her arm again and this time Cristina took it.

_Every now and then, it feels good to see the jealousy on her face. _Burke did not mean to confuse Cristina and he was glad she took it so well.

Margaret caught a glimpse of mischief in her brother's eyes.

On the other end of bed, Cristina and Letty started maneuvering the Mr. Patient robot and having an adult conversation about surgeries.


	5. Chapter 5

I don't want to toss out bad stories. I'm semi-conscious as I'm writing this, but the characters told me they need more stories...they're pushing me...

- - - - - -

A patch of warmth lured his forehead. By and by, it drifted to his naked arm, then to his belly. Burke glanced down, disappointed to find that it was but a scarp of the mid-afternoon sun, lingering on his body. _Where is Cristina?_

The last thing he remembered was that Cristina said she would take Margaret and Letty to the airport. His mother called earlier in the morning telling him how both his sister and Letty were fond of her future daughter-in-law. Burke smiled at the thought before his eyes felt heavy again.

"Dr. Burke, how're you feeling?" _Where is Cristina? _When he heard the voice immediately he knew it was she. He did not want to bother opening his eyes for his visitor, but he did out of courtesy.

"Derek, remember we're on first-name basis now?"

"Right, Preston. Ready to go home tomorrow?" Derek gave one of his typical not-so-dreamy smile that many women, save Cristina, had fallen for.

Burke nodded, still wondering where his intern-girlfriend was. Cristina promised to come over before her next shift. _Maybe some amazing surgeries came up. Wouldn't surprise me if she chose surgery over me._

"Well I'm sure in a few weeks you'd be fine." Not knowing what else to say, Derek left. He realized he really was not good at communicating with people with words. No wonder he and Meredith were so perfect together—one always lost in his dreamy stare and the other repeating the same phrase to herself and others a thousand times.

"Thank you, Derek." Burke could not hold it anymore. He had not had his fix of Cristina today and he was becoming impatient. "Do you know if Cristina is around?"

"I'll see if I could find her for you."

It always amazed and amused Burke that he needed Cristina so badly. He used to enjoy running into her _accidentally_ in the corridor, scrubbing in for the same surgery with her, bringing her coffee... He could not wait to get out of his patient role so that he could follow her around in an _unintentional_ manner.

Burke knew the interns and nurses used to make fun of him for being so eager to see Cristina when they first started dating. They could not believe the cocky heart surgeon would act so differently with Yang. Thanks to his injury, his yearning for her had become verynoticeable again, by everyone at the hospital who acted as his messenger.

"Dr. Burke, Cristina wants to tell you she's sorry but she can't come today. She said she'll see you tomorrow at home." Meredith poked her head in and passed on the message in her always apologetic tone.

"Well, thank you, Grey." Burke wanted to ask why, but Meredith had gone. He knew he could have paged her. Cristina said she would answer his call whenever he needed her, but he was beginning to wonder if Cristina was trying to avoid him.

_She has been so supportive, so caring, so unlike the old Cristina this past week. Maybe she's having second thoughts, now that I'll be home tomorrow?_ Burke tried to shake off the depressing thought.

Before seeing her tomorrow, he would have to rely on a long pleasant dream about Cristina tonight. Thank god he had a photographic memory.


	6. Chapter 6

"How much longer do you need to take, George?" Cristina was running around her apartment in a panic.

"Hey, I'm doing you a favor. It's a long weekend and I'm coming over to fix your stupid washing machine!" Sometimes the usually sweet-natured George O'Malley wished his friend could be slightly more grateful. "You know Callie will be mad at me if I don't get to her sister's BBQ party on time."

"Oh, please George, I'm sorry. We're friends, aren't we? I'll tell Bailey to let you scrub in for all the cool surgeries in place of me tomorrow, OK?"

"I'm only doing this because of Preston. I don't want him to think his home has been struck by Katrina."

_Since when has everyone started calling him Preston?_

"I appreciate that, George." Cristina tried her best to hide her feeling of disdain.

Standing in the middle of the living room, seeing the pile of dirty laundry lying on the floor, water constantly flowing out of her washing machine, Cristina knew the Chief was right.

_I need some time off—to interview a maid or two—sooner or later I will blow up this place._

Which she almost did. She did not realize how much damage a tiny silver coffee spoon in her jeans could do that much damage to the machine.

"Oh my god, no more cupcakes please, Izzie," Cristina's eyes were filled with horror when she answered the door. Those hot pink cupcakes with white chocolate glazing and chopped strawberries stared at Cristina like the nasty fiends.

"Burke's coming home tomorrow. We're having a party, aren't we?"

"Izzie, we are going to have a party, but we don't need so many cupcakes. You're bringing me a dozen a day!" Not wanting to hurt her friend's feelings, Cristina tried to correct herself, "I mean, those plain ones are fine, but I don't think Burke likes pink, or green, or orange, or blue."

"I love blue cupcakes, reminds me of cookie monster." George stuck out his head from the machine and greeted Izzie.

"OK, people. We only have 12 hours before Burke is home. We need a better plan."

"We can make more brownies."

"Shut up, Izzie."

"First, we need to clean the carpet."

"I need to go to Callie's party."

"No you don't, George. Remember, you have to do this for _Preston,"_ Izzie mocked at him.

"I burnt his shirt—"

George and Izzie stopped fighting when they heard Cristina. They looked as surprised as Cristina was, before bursting into laughter.

"Hey, this is not funny. It's his favorite shirt."

"Cristina, George is almost done with the machine. Why don't you let him do the ironing? You know he's good girlfriend material." Izzie was still laughing.

George excused the absurdity of his friend's remark, knowing how crazy she could get.

_They're bringing this up again. _Cristina became more determined that she would hire a maid first thing in the morning.

Just then, the bell rang again.

"Are we expecting more people tonight?" George asked.

"Is it Meredith?"

"She is out on a date with Finn tonight." _So much for being my best friend._

Cristina unlocked the door and was startled by the smiling face in front of her.

"Good evening, Chief."

"Good evening, Chief," the interns repeated in unison.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks for all the reviews and your patience. Here we go: **

**>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>**

"Chief, what brought you here?" George did not mind acting curious.

"I... uh... well—"

"Everything's fine with Dr. Burke, isn't it?" Izzie asked as she approached Richard with her tray of fiendishly pink cupcakes.

_STOP it, Izzie. This should be MY question for the Chief, not yours!_

As if he could read Cristina's mind, Richard replied, "Burke is sound asleep and he'll be discharged tomorrow. In fact, I'm just here to—"

"Want to try my cupcakes? Fresh off the oven." Richard did not like to be interrupted, but he was still trying to figure out how best to articulate the reason why he was here. He did not want to sound too affectionate, yet he had no desire to play Chief tonight either.

"No thanks, Stevens." Cristina was the only one he felt comfortable calling by first name. Besides, Izzie's mental status was questionable, not to mention her cupcakes. "I overheard your washing machine broke… and I… uh… thought maybe you'd need some help?"

"Oh," Cristina was slightly overwhelmed by the Chief's generosity. "Thank you."

"I fixed it." George tried to fish for a compliment for his heroic act but everyone ignored him.

Richard walked over to Cristina's side. "What've we got here, Cristina?"

"This shirt is a goner. Prognosis for these three is equally bad."

Richard wished he could iron, but that was Adele's expertise, not his. "Why don't you take them somewhere? That wouldn't cost a lot."

"Preston doesn't like his shirts handled by strangers." Once again, Izzie offered the information. Cristina pressed her hand across her forehead, regretting telling her insane and intrusive friend all these information previously.

_And STOP calling him Preston. _Cristina was about to burst.

"I see. Anything else I could help?"The feeling of incompetence that surged whenever he met Meredith's mom was acutely felt. Richard wished he could make himself useful.

"Chief, why don't you help us with the planning of the party? We helped you with Camille's. Maybe you can help us with Dr. Burke's?" George broke the silence and eased Richard's discomfort a bit.

"Sure."

"Actually, I don't think Burke actually wants a party." Cristina said coldly. She was put off by their enthusiasm as she tried working on the second shirt.

"But he's coming home. And we love parties!" Izzie protested, not remembering who she was.

"Izzie, you are the one who loves parties, you are the one who is baking all those freaking cupcakes. OK, Denny Duqatte died. I AM SORRY. But please stop getting on my nerves before I toss those ugly cakes all over your face." Cristina could not pretend she wanted a party anymore. Cristina remembered distinctly how Burke and Izzie were sharing their joy of cooking together last year at the Thanksgiving party—_as if I didn't have a right to be jealous!_

"Cristina, calm down—" By the time Richard pulled the shirt away from Cristina's hot iron, everybody was starring at the scotch mark with lamentation.

Cristina was defeated. She unplugged the iron and fell into her sofa, her arms and legs crossed.

They thought she was going to cry. Instead, she said, "Why can't Burke like non-wrinkled dress shirts? Why can't he like t-shirts? I told you. This man is trouble!"

"It's OK, Cristina. It's just a shirt."

"Two shirts."Cristina was openly scornful.

_It's 9 o'clock and Burke will be back in twelve hours. How much more damage will I cause before that?_

"If none of you can help, then go home. I still need to change the bedspread, vacuum the rooms and—"

"Cristina!"When she heard the utterly familiar voice coming from the door, Cristina nearly fainted. _How did those 12 hours elapsed in 12 seconds?_

"You're home." Cristina turned pale, like a child caught red-handed.

"Dr. Burke said he couldn't bear another night alone in the hospital." Standing behind Burke, Derek greeted everyone.

"Aren't you excited?" Burke was thrilled to be home. He stepped in to give Cristina a squeeze in the hand. The only image that passed through his pupils was that of his curly head girl's—that was, before he noticed the Chief, his interns, and his burnt dress-shirts.


	8. Chapter 8

**It's been a while since I last updated, because I don't know where this story is heading! It's a short update. Let me know what you think.**

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So, you've taken up ironing as a hobby?" Noticing the absence of the woman who would turn his feelings upside down, inside out, horizontally, vertically, 720 degrees, the He-Shepard broke the silence by his absurd remark in his unremarkably absurd manner. 

"Yea, special training on eye-hand coordination," Cristina replied bluntly while trying to hide the damaged shirts at the same time. "I want to get better surgeries."

An awkward silence returned to the apartment for 3 seconds, before Burke's amusment met that of Richard's and then the two men stared at Cristina and burst out laughing.

"If your performance is indicative of your surgical skills, I'd have Bailey send you to the pit to practice suturing for a month." The Chief joked.

Burke walked closer to his girlfriend, now trying to defend her. "hey, don't be so hard on her." _I can't believe she's ironing my clothes._ Far from being upset by the sight of his damaged shirts, Preston Burke was a grateful man, to the extent that the thought of becoming Cristina's burden crept up insidiously.

"Meredith doesn't know how to iron either." Derek blurted out yet another inappropriate remark.

"Thanks for telling us that." Cristina was still blaming Sheppard for bringing Burke home early. _I hate feeling unprepared. This isn't the Cristina Yang all these people should see._

"For your information, Meredith is dating the vet. He is a better person for her. If you're looking for her, you've at the wrong place." Good old George walked up to Derek, almost pushing him out of the apartment. Callie was now his love, but Meredith would always be family.

"I want to be Meredith. I want to be loved. Denny is dead. I want to be loved."

On the one hand, Cristina regretted letting Izzie into her apartment, emptying her vodka. On the other hand, it was fun to watch her tripped over Derek and attempt to unbutton his shirt.

"OK, people. I don't think the Chief is giving us a day-off tomorrow, right, Chief? It's time to go home. Please and thank you." _These people are giving me a pseudo hangover that even the strongest coffee couldn't sooth._

Cristina's sarcastic tone was still clearly audible in Burke's head after everyone has left.


	9. Chapter 9

**I want to keep this story up and going but I am clueless as to where it will lead. I guess it might be better if I just wrap things up before it drags on. **

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Your're home." Cristina slouched in the sofa, looking exhausted.

"I'm home." Burke blinked.

Silence.

"We have our home to ourselves again." Cristina was relieved. She felt like a clown that entire evening, running around her own apartment—Burke's apartment—trying to keep everyone entertained.

Nonetheless, now that they were left alone in their private haven once again, Cristina was acutely aware that it wasn't easy to come up with a whole new way to interact with Burke: to show her concern without hurting his ego, to show her love without letting those three "forbidden words" slip through her lips as if they weren't real.

Burke blinked. "Want some coffee?"

Normally, Cristina would lie down like the sleeping beauty and wait for the caffeine to be air-lifted to her from the kitchen by her prince. Tonight, she jumped up the instant she heard the remark. _Things have changed. He can't make me coffee anymore._

"I'll do it." Cristina straightened out of her slouch and walked towards the kitchen.

Preston Burke thought he would feel more at ease at home, but at this point he actually felt more vulnerable emotionally.

"Thank you." Burke made sure Cristina did not see the grimace on his face. _You don't have to treat me like an invalid. I still have one hand._

It was a strange feeling, a mixture of gratitude and distain. He wanted her love, not sympathy.

What wasn't clear to him was that the two feelings could intertwine and be the disguise of one another sometimes. He was trying too hard to delineate the two. It was like separating caffeine from regular coffee—an impossible thing—because it wasn't decaf, nor was Cristina withdrawing her love from the relationship.

"Coffee's ready." Cristina handed him a cup of coffee, regular, full of caffeine.


	10. Chapter 10

**As I mentioned in ch.9, I just can't get this thing going anymore, so this is the last chapter. This chapter can almost be a stand-alone piece. It's a little longer than the rest. **

**You can sort of think of my "Wedding Bells, and then More" as the sequel to this fan-fic.**

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The green wall directly facing him read _Reflection_, along with snapshots of smiling faces. Burke looked around—people filling every corner of the coffee shop—talking, dating, studying, reading, writing, or like him, watching.

Burke came here to be in touch with the world and regain some personal space. Two ideas that did not normally go together. Today, they blended perfectly. Nobody knew him, nobody would show him their worried faces, yet he was surrounded by a lot of people, unlike sitting alone in his apartment.

Taking his eyes off the wall, Burke recognized how his lenses have gone misty. It was a strange feeling: like when one was trying hard not to be seen crying over a chick-flick in theatre, even when it really had its touching moment. He was feeling eerily in sync with humanity once more, being taken down the god-like seat he had been occupying for so long. Preston Burke, the one whom nobody thought would fall from grace in 17 seconds.

He saw people walking in, going out, cashiers changing places. They were all integral to the shop, but anyone could be replaced at any point in time. That was how he felt. He could be replaced, or Cristina could.

Burke loved Cristina. That was fact, although it did not negate his desire to leave her. She could and would be willing to help him, but there were things in life that a man had to face alone. He needed some time to figure out where to place himself in the world once more. Richard's recommendation was an excellent excuse.

All his life he had very clear goals and ideas about life, about what he wanted and when to get them. He was on a Sunday freeway, not speeding, but always getting ahead. Now, he was at a red light on a local street. It was unfamiliar, but it allowed him time to look around and rediscover himself.

And there he saw Cristina walking through the door.

"How's your day?" She was smiling a lot lately. He initially thought she was faking it. Soon, he reckoned it was a smile of relief and gratitude, the same emotions she felt after the bomb scare.

"Burke, don't you find it funny that we've never dated in a coffee shop before?"

"Nothing much. How about you?" He smiled back. That was how it all began, and how he would end it, at least for now.

Cristina hesitated. She already heard from the Chief about the physiotherapy program in Switzerland. "Oh, I did a lot of suturing today."

"You didn't bite anyone's head off to scrub in?" It was so unlike Cristina.

"Burke!" Cristina knew she would miss his teasing. She opened her mouth again, but he stopped her.

"Cristina—"

"I promise I won't burn down our apartment." _Please don't kick me out of our home, or our relationship._

_Our apartment? _The phrase transfixed him.

Cristina did not give him a chance to speak. "Webber says it'll only be a couple of months, maybe half a year. You aren't gonna sell your apartment because of that, are you? You can't kick me out of our home."

_Our home._ If not because of his current condition, he might have proposed to the woman in front of him right away. He was just getting off the freeway. Already he could see the next entrance sign flashing not too far away.

It was their turn to order coffee. "Your name, ma'am?"

"C"

"C?"

"Yes."

"C for coffee?"

_For Cristina too._ _His Cristina. _

Cristina wrapped her arm around Burke's waist and colored his neck with her pink lip-gloss.


End file.
